Lily’s arms were suddenly around his waist, her front pressed against his back as she laid a cheek against his shoulder. “Nor will I, until you ask me properly, you bounder,” she whispered.
Billy stiffened, wondering if she was still wrapped in flannel or if she was naked or ... He turned around in her arms, a bit relieved and perhaps a bit disappointed to find her fully clothed. “I will, Lily, just as soon as I have a right proper ring and your father’s permission,” he promised, holding her body hard against his own.
“Billy,” Lily murmured after a moment.
“Aye?” he responded, pulling away from her so he could look at her face.
“You need a bath. Now,” she said, pointing at the tub. And before he could protest, she was undoing his buttons and pulling his clothes from his body.
It was midday, under gray leaden skies, when Henry rode up to Gisborn Hall. Somewhere farther back on the road, Billy and Lily were riding in a gig pulled by a single draft horse. Hannah caught sight of Henry from the second-story window of a guest room overlooking the road that led from the village. She’d been watching from the window since ten that morning, knowing it might be another day or more before she would witness the arrival of her husband from his rescue mission. And seeing Lily riding, arm in arm with the young groom, she realized it had been more than just a successful rescue. After what she had learned from Mrs. Chambers regarding Thomas Babcock and what he’d done to the Coley girl last year, Hannah was beside herself with worry. Seeing the young groom and her maid looking happy to be in one another’s company, she could only hope they might have a future together. A future at Gisborn Hall.
Hurrying down the stairs and out the front doors, she ran until Thunder cleared the main gates and was taking his rider toward the stables. On seeing Hannah, though, Henry reined in his mount and halted before her. Jumping down, he captured her in his arms and spun her around until she giggled in delight. Harold was suddenly at his feet, his tail wagging so hard it created a slight breeze against their legs.
“I’ve been so worried,” Hannah breathed, not releasing her grip on her husband.
Henry stared down at her, his smile faltering. “Lily is fine,” he assured her.
“I know. I saw from the upstairs window. But I was still worried about ... you,” she managed to get out, her face taking on the pink blush. “Did you take a room, at least?” she wondered. “Have dinner at a decent inn?”
Closing his eyes for a moment, Henry nodded. “Yes, of course,” he replied, giving her a reassuring hug. “Even had a bath, although you wouldn’t know it now,” he said with a grin.
“I don’t care,” Hannah replied with as shake of her head. “Just so you’re back.” They walked in silence up to the house, Henry leading Thunder until a stable hand came out to retrieve the horse. Before they could go inside, the curricle came through the gates. Hannah smiled as she watched Lily tentatively wave in her direction. She waved back. “Mrs. Chambers is baking biscuits for the laborers. I’ll take them out at four o’clock. Would you like to join me when I go to check on their progress?” she wondered. “It’s a wonderful ride. I was out there just after nine this morning, and they had completed nearly twenty feet of the trench just this morning.” She paused a moment and added, “When I asked if Mr. Coley had any concerns or questions to bring to your attention, he said he did not.”
Henry stared down at her. “What did you say about biscuits?” he wondered, his brow furrowing.
Taken aback by the question, Hannah sobered. “I’m having Mrs. Chambers bake biscuits for this afternoon’s four o’clock break,” she repeated as she entered the house. “Well, it’s not really a break, since all they do is grab a biscuit from the basket and eat it while they continue to shovel dirt, but it really seems to lift their spirits, and they seem to work just a bit harder afterwards.”
Parkerhouse was removing Henry’s coat from his shoulders as Henry considered what his wife was telling him. “And you know this ... how do you know this?” he wondered, his manner far too serious. He’d been gone for just over one day and a half and his wife was feeding his work crew biscuits? He thought of some of the men who had been hired for the job, thought of them ogling his wife as she brought them biscuits. When he first rode through the gates and saw Hannah running to him, he thought he might take her to his bedchamber and have his way with her, but, suddenly, he thought he should get back on his horse and find Mr. Coley. Hadn’t the man said anything to stop her? Biscuits?
“Well, because I did it yesterday,” Hannah replied, her manner suddenly a bit tentative. “Mr. Coley doesn’t give the men very much time to eat luncheon, and they don’t stop for tea, since there is no tea, and, well, it just seemed the right thing to do ...”
“My lady, they’re a work crew,” Henry countered, annoyance in his voice. He was tired, he was sore, and the last thing he wanted to deal with was a problem on the west irrigation project. “They don’t stop for tea and biscuits!” he nearly yelled, his voice sounding far too harsh. Taking a breath, Henry held it for a moment, raked his fingers through his hair and eyed the ceiling above them. He hadn’t meant to chastise her quite so harshly, but the tears limning Hannah’s eyes made it apparent he had. Dipping his head, he shook it. “I’m sorry. I ..”
“It’s ... alright. I thought ... I just thought that when you asked me to take the instructions to your foreman, that you also wanted me to check on their progress and ... I did,” she said, one slippered foot stomping as tears poured down her cheeks.
Tears! Damn! Not knowing what else to do, Henry lifted her chin with a finger and kissed her lips. It wasn’t a long kiss, not even a passionate kiss. Just a simple kiss in an attempt to make things ... better. “Thank you,” he said in a whisper. He kissed her again.
“You’re welcome.” She sniffled, and he pulled out a handkerchief. “Thank you,” she murmured as she took it and wiped her tears.
“Do you know how much they ..?”
“Two-hundred and ninety feet yesterday,” she managed to get out between sniffles. She sniffled again, suddenly realizing she had no idea if that was good progress or not.
Henry stared down at her. “The entire width?”
She nodded. “And a bit wider at the river.”
“And today?”
“They had another twenty done when I was there at nine this morning.” She dared a glance up at him, wondering if he was pleased or displeased. The stunned look on his face didn’t indicate one way or the other, but she could have sworn he said something about the east side taking a week to complete. The west side would be done much sooner than that.
Henry blinked. Blinked again. And then he kissed her, hard, and cupped her face with both his hands. “Damn!” he got out as he pulled away from her.
Hannah shook her head, still not certain if he was pleased or not. “Is that ... bad?” she wondered in a weak voice.
His arms were suddenly around her shoulders, pulling her body hard against his. She let out a squeak of surprise before she felt a burble of laughter erupt from him. Then he was lifting her into his arms and taking her up the steps, his face a study in delight. “My lady, we’re going to need more biscuits,” he announced as he flung open her bedchamber door and tossed her onto the bed.
After bouncing a couple of times, her skirts flying up so her stocking-clad legs were on display, Hannah stared back at her husband. She gave him a tentative smile. “So, you’re not ... angry with me?” she whispered.
Henry settled himself on the bed next to her, his head shaking from side to side. “No, my lady,” he murmured. “Just mad for you.” And then his lips captured hers in a series of kisses that did not end until almost four o’clock.
As he did the fastenings of Hannah’s riding habit, Henry allowed his mind to wander. I should go see Sarah. I should pay a visit to Nathan. I need to check on the status of the greenhouses. But, at that moment, exhausted by his travels and yet somehow invigorated by the afternoon tryst, he decided it co
uld all wait until after he checked on the work crew.
Henry had allowed Murphy to dress him but thought Hannah should wait until later in the evening before asking for Lily to see to her, perhaps to dress her and do her hair for dinner. He’d given leave to Billy to see to Lily’s resettling; he knew she was quite embarrassed over the entire ordeal with Thomas Babcock. They hadn’t discussed anything over dinner at the inn. Despite having had a bath, Lily still looked lost and out of sorts. It wasn’t until that morning, when he’d mentioned Babcock wasn’t welcome on his lands that Lily realized the rake was still alive.
“He’s not dead?” she wondered as she held a piece of dry toast, regarding it as if it might make her sick if she ate it. “I was sure ...”
“Were you the one who gave him the shiner?” Henry asked then, remembering how the boy had looked when he’d turned him over.
The flush of red that colored Lily’s face gave him the answer he expected. He turned to Billy. “Don’t ever anger this girl,” he ordered with just a hint of humor. “She can break your nose, split your lip and leave you with a black eye.”
Smiling now as he remembered Billy’s open-mouthed look of admiration and respect, Henry explained he would be riding back to Gisborn Hall, but that they would riding in a rented conveyance. Once they were back, a groom could return it to the inn and retrieve Billy’s horse. Although Billy had volunteered for the duty, Henry told him he couldn’t go – he was to see to Lily’s comfort and begin setting up their room in the main house. Now that ‘Bill O’Conlin’ was a groom, he would have to give up his room in the stables. Billy had been so surprised by the earl’s proclamation, by the earl’s calling him ‘Bill’ instead of ‘Billy’, he could only thank the man and give Lily a shrug when he saw her look of surprise.
“Your maid will be getting married soon,” Henry spoke in a quiet voice as he nudged Hannah to turn around.
His wife’s eyes widened in surprise, a flash of worry touching her brow. “Are you requiring Mr. Babcock to ..?”
“God, no,” Henry interrupted her. “She will marry Billy O’Conlin. They’ll have a room together here in the servants hall in the main house,” he explained, taking her hand and leading her down the stairs.
“But, he’s ... he’s so young!”
“He and Lily are the same age. And given what happened on this trip, well, I figure it best the two are settled together.” They took the hall to the kitchen, Hannah leading, so she could retrieve the basket of biscuits, and Harold following at Henry’s feet.
She was looking back at him, her surprise still evident. “Did he ... ruin her?” she whispered. Her eyes grew wider. “Or did the Babcock boy?” She stopped in her tracks, forcing Henry to stop short and Harold’s head to careen into the back of his knees. Henry nearly toppled backwards onto Harold, but Hannah reached out and grabbed onto his arm, helped him to regain his footing. She saw the flash of anger in Henry’s eyes even before his curse filled the tiny hallway.
“Damned dog!” he shouted suddenly. He had turned, Hannah thought perhaps to kick Harold, but the dog had made a hasty retreat to the end of the hall and sat with his head hung low.
“Henry!” Hannah admonished him, her eyes wide with shock at what she considered a minor offense on the part of Harold.
“Damn it, Hannah! That dog will be the death of me,” Henry cursed again, his ire quite apparent.
Reeling back at the shout as if she’d been slapped across the face, Hannah stared back at her husband. He rarely called her ‘Hannah’ – almost always said ‘my lady’ when he addressed her – and yet he cursed quite easily using her given name. She had to force herself not to breathe, not to allow the tears that suddenly pricked at the corners of her eyes to form into drops and stream down her face. “I’ll be certain he is never in your way again, my lord,” she hissed, before turning and making her way through the kitchen, grabbing the basket as she sailed through the back door. Despite her sudden anger, she felt a wave of relief when she realized Mrs. Chambers wasn’t in the kitchen but perched on a stool just outside the back door plucking feathers from a chicken.
“Hannah!” Henry called after her, stunned at her rebuke. He dared a glance back at Harold and could swear the dog was shaking his head at him, as if to say he’d made a big mistake and he’s better do whatever he could to set things right. Leaning up against the hall wall, he took two deep breaths before calmly making his way out the back door and to the stables. Hannah’s horse was already saddled; she was on the mounting block and placing her feet in the stirrups when he motioned for the stable boy to get his horse.
“My lady,” he said as he rounded the mounting block and stood to one side of her horse’s head. “I wish to apologize and ask that you please forgive me for my outburst back there,” he said in a very quiet voice.
Sitting as high as she could in the saddle, her attention on the basket she was positioning for the ride to the west irrigation ditch, Hannah struggled to keep the tears at bay. She finally looked over at him, stunned to find that, even though she was mounted on a horse, he was nearly on level with her. Then she realized he had climbed one of the steps of the mounting block.
“Oh, Henry,” she whispered, still struggling to keep the tears from forming. “You cursed me,” she whispered hoarsely.
“I did not curse you, Hannah,” Henry replied, a bit too quickly. “I cursed the dog.” Even as he made the clarification, he remembered the dog shaking his head from side to side and wished he hadn’t just made the comment. Christ, was the dog becoming his conscience now? Hannah’s expression had not changed one iota. In fact, he was quite sure she was going to burst into tears.
“That dog loves me, Henry. Until I bear a child, he is the only ... being on this planet besides my father who does!”
Hannah’s words were like a slap across Henry’s face. He stared at her, his brows furrowing in a combination of shock and shame. “I beg your forgiveness, Hannah,” he said in a very quiet, very controlled voice, his mouth mere inches from her ear. “I may love another, but ...” He shook his head, his lips pressed together as if he feared what he might say. “I do feel ... affection for you, my lady,” he whispered. Reaching over as far as he dared given his precarious perch on the mounting block, he kissed her on the cheek. “I thought of you to distraction whilst on this trip. I missed you terribly.”
Hannah’s breath caught. She dared not look at him at that moment for fear she would become a watering pot and slide off the sidesaddle and into his arms. Given his precarious perch on the mounting block, she was sure they would go tumbling down onto the ground right in front of Mrs. Chambers.
Then he would no doubt curse again.
She would be in his arms, but she decided the display of affection wasn’t worth the aftermath.
“I promise I will never again curse Harold. Nor you,” he whispered urgently. “Tell me ... tell me what I can do to make it up to you,” he offered, the memory of Harold shaking his head at him suddenly in his mind’s eye. He watched as Hannah seemed to give a great deal of thought to his offer, and he began to worry. Should he offer a diamond pendant? Or a necklace and matching earbobs set with sapphires? Perhaps he should have put a limit to what he was willing to do, what he was willing to spend ...
“Bed me, and only me, every night for another three weeks,” she whispered, aware that the stable boy had just brought Thunder out of the barn.
Henry blinked. He blinked again, not quite sure he’d heard his wife correctly. “You do realize that I don’t consider bedding you to be a form of ... punishment?” he countered, his head shaking just a bit.
Hannah’s gaze met his just then, and she bit her lower lip. If he was in her bed, then he wasn’t in Sarah’s. That’s all she could think of – that’s what she’d thought of every day for the past week and would probably think for the next week, for she’d only extracted a promise of two weeks from him that afternoon in the coach on the way to Gisborn Hall. And the longer she kept him out of Sarah’s
bed, the more likely it was Sarah would have time to accept an offer of marriage and Henry would never be welcomed in her bed again. “Then, you agree?” she asked, her lower lip trembling just a bit.
Blinking again, Henry leaned over and kissed her cheek. He’d hurt her with the curse, he knew that. And he knew Harold was important to her. So he thought she was letting him off a bit too easily. What was he to do but agree? “God, yes,” he whispered. “I promise.” With that, he bounded down from the mounting block and quickly climbed onto Thunder, knowing she watched him as he did so. When he caught her gaze again, she was giving him a brilliant smile.
“You minx!” he called out as he watched her take off toward the west, her bearing on the small horse making it very apparent she was a countess – my countess.
Thunder closed the gap between them long before they reached the western border and the group of men who were shoveling to the rhythm of a work song. He drew his horse up next to Frank Coley’s mount as Hannah continued her ride to the group of men farthest away. He watched in awe as she dismounted and carried her basket to the rows of men, holding it out so each man could help himself to a biscuit. They bowed and smiled as if she was the single brightest spot of their day, returning to work with renewed vigor.
“I have to admit, she knows what she’s doing,” Mr. Coley offered when Henry didn’t say anything by way of a greeting.
Henry shook his head. “I assure you I was not happy about the situation when she first explained it to me,” he countered, hearing a new song break out amongst the workers that had taken biscuits. One man called out the words while the others repeated them back. He could make out something about ‘four o’clock’ and ‘biscuits’ and ‘the Countess of Gisborn’ and ‘the fairest in the land’, but not much else. Once each man had helped himself, Henry watched as Hannah made her way back to her horse. Two men had hurried up to her horse, one of them with his hands laced together to form a step while the other held onto the reins. When she was seated, the men bowed and hurried back to their shovels.
The Seduction of an Earl Page 22
